The Beaded Ring

Little B is on a one puff streak. It's all she has been asking for lately. I've tried to get inventive with it by creating The Pillbox, styling a flat twist sidesweep, or braiding a cornrow all the way around the puff. When she asked for yet another single puff, I needed a new idea. Looking through old photos on the Style Gallery, I found the Cinnabun style originally created by MotorCityMoxie. It was one of my favorites for Little B, but it put a bit too much stress on her hairline. I wondered if I could turn it outward and make it work for a single puff. I came up with The Beaded Ring.

The style is very simple and takes very little time, but before we could start I needed to co-wash and detangle. When we got to detangling, I found a ton of fairy knots. Somehow, all the satin pillowcases ended up in the wash at the same time Little B's hair was loose. Our sleep caps are all wore out at the same time.  We had to use them while waiting for new ones, but they weren't too effective. She's just about due for a regular trim as well. All that created just the right conditions for fairy knots. I spent about an hour and half going through her hair, gently detangling, getting bigger knots out with my pin tail comb, and snipping the worst of the fairy knots. After detangling each section, I added a little jojoba oil to help retain moisture. It was worth all the effort, her hair felt so much better afterward.

I clipped off each section as I finished to keep 

the hair from tangling before I could style it.

With that done we moved on to styling. Although I'm calling this one the Beaded Ring, it doesn't actually use hair beads. It reminds me of a classic beaded, or milgrain, wedding band, and that's what I had in mind as I styled. All I need for this style was some moisturizing styling cream, a short length of a black stocking, and a few bobby pins.

I gathered her detangled hair back toward the center of her head with my hands. I tied the stocking and then stretched it over the puff. I made a very wide puff with nothing pulled very tightly. This protects the hairline and gives the style a soft look. A gel or pomade could be used to smooth the hair back for a more tailored look.

Once the wide puff was secure, I took small sections just behind the band, lifted them away from the puff and twisted slightly. I then just tucked the end under the stocking band. I did that all the way around the band and then used four bobby pins at the front, back, and sides to help keep the band in place.

Step 1:

Step 2:

Step 3:

Step 4:

Step 5:

The Beaded Ring

I really like this simple style. We played around with it by adding little dragonfly clips between the sections, clipping them directly to the stocking band. It was cute, but a little distracting. I took some photos, but every single one was blurry. Oh well. I think I like this style best unadorned anyway. When I freshened it up a couple days after the initial style, I added some pomade along the edges to smooth it out a bit. I liked that too.

Your Favorite Condish?

What is your very favorite, best-you-ever-used, conditioner for curls and coils? Let me know in the comments!

It doesn't matter if it is $2 or $20, or anything in between. It can be used for regular washes or co-washes. It can contain silicone, or not. Just tell me what works for the curls and coils in your house. The only stipulation is that despite how you use it, it must intended to be used as a rinse out conditioner.

Have more than one favorite? List them all. I'll go first.

My top two favorites are:
Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose
Darcy's Botanicals Pumpkin Seed Moisturizing Conditioner

Come and play along by leaving the product name(s) in the comments. 

C'mon, don't be shy!  I'm going somewhere fun with this....

Tied Up In Knots

We all spend a lot of time getting knots out of hair, so it feels a little wacky to purposely tie the hair in knots. But that's exactly what we did for Little R, who always and forever marches to beat of her own drummer.

I used a good amount of coconut oil the night before our planned wash. The next morning I washed it, conditioned it well, and detangled it with a little Kinky-Curly Knot Today. I added a little jojoba oil to help retain the moisture and then took three sections in front and banded them. We left it that way for about an hour or so.

During that hour, the girls' favorite "big, brown truck" brought some hair products from Oyin Handmade. Sometimes UPS has impeccable timing. Naturally I busted open my new goodies and gave them a whirl. I took the bands off Little R's hair and straightened out the parts.

In the center section, I worked some styling cream into her hair, made sure the section was perfectly detangled, and then coiled the section a bit. I looped it and pushed the end through the loop, creating a big knot. I left that to hang down the back.

I next took the two side sections, added the styling cream and made sure they were well detangled too. I brought them together just under the first knot and tied them three time. I took a small rubber band and wrapped it around just a couple of time under the last knot. Everything here is very loose. I didn't brush the hair back, the knots are loose, the rubber band is loose. Loose, loose, loose. I'll probably have to freshen it often, but better that that a tight knot that gets knotted in the bad way.

The result kind of looks like a braid, but kind of doesn't. It's a simple, but unique look. Adding an accessory like a flower, barrette, ballie, or corker over the rubber band can dress it up or down. When I remove this, I will add a generous amount of detangling product and gently untie it. It is really easy to snarl the hair as the knots are removed, so it you try this go slowly when you removing a knot style. Trust me on that one.

Looking for more style ideas? Don't forget to check out the Happy Girl Style Gallery. It's where all our favorite styles hang out. 

Saturday Spotlight: Sweet Little Braids

Today we enjoying a visit from a little ray of sunshine. Mommy K has recently begun braiding her Little J's hair and Little J sure does look happy! Here is what Mommy K has to say...

I love your Saturday Spotlight. It has helped encourage me to try braids. Nope, not cornrows or any other type of braid just a plain old braid. I have only braided my own hair and I have found it strange to look at and braid another person’s hair. So I have braided her hair twice and I was just tickled pink at how they both turned out. I had to share my small victory with you since your site has helped me so much.

Also, I read an older post about storing all of the hair accessories and I just laughed. I don’t think Little J’s hair stuff would fit in any of those containers and I don’t even have any snaps or beads. Sigh…I think I might need a closet. This is what happens when you grow up with short hair. When you finally have a daughter of your own, you will vicariously through her!

I think this is adorable and fun and Little J is such a cutie-pie. Thanks Mommy K!

Whether you have been styling for a long time, or are just starting out, we'd love to see what you are up to. Email me at joyfulmom@happygirlhair.com with a few photos and any details you want to share. We like Saturday Spotlights featuring loose hair, Happy Boy Hair, and your regular hair care routine too. 

Just for Fun Friday

Around the house we talk about hair styles, but we don't really use the word hairdo. Little B must have heard it somewhere though because the other night, right before bed, she said, "Mom, what's a hair dude?"

This is the fabulous twist out style we 

got after taking The Busy Bee out. 

The coils it created lasted through a co-wash. 

Little R has been speculating about her new school and new teacher since the end of last year. A few mornings ago, we were in the bathroom and I was spritzing her hair with our usual water and Protective Mist Bodifier mix. A sudden thought struck Little R and she said, "I wonder if my new teacher will be named Miss Bodifier."

Short flat twist held with a barrette.

This keeps the hair out of her face

and provides a nice alternative to a 

headband.

Have a great weekend!

5 Strand Braid

I was looking for something or other on You Tube the other day and I found a video for a 5 strand braid. I don't know how I got to this video but as it started playing I thought, "Oh cool! A braiding demonstration with clay! Why didn't I think of that?"

Except, it's bread dough. It's an artisan bread-making tutorial and it says so right on the video. The braiding looks so easy, and the video made me hungry too. Granted, I can't lay hair down on a wooden board and braid perfectly uniform sections at my leisure. But still, I wondered how hard could it be to do this in the hair.

As it turns out, not to hard. It's a little tricky to hold most of the sections at once but the nice part is that this one requires moving only one section at a time. It isn't even hard to remember which to move. Check out the video and give it a try. I did a 5 strand on Little R as an overnight braid between washing and styling and loved the distinctive look of the 5 strand. Mine is a little messy because it was my first time doing this and I wasn't braiding for styling. I hope to get better at this braid and use it often.

Is there a type of braid you are trying to learn?

2 Strand Flat Twists

I'm so glad a lot of people enjoyed Little B's Busy Bee style this week. Little R got a fun hairstyle too. It's not unique and it doesn't have a clever name, but we like it.

After washing, conditioning and detangling her hair, I put it in a 5 strand braid overnight. (I'll be telling you more about the 5 strand tomorrow.) When it was time to style, I took that out and spritzed her with water. I parted her hair down the middle and then ear-to-ear so I had four big sections. To make wedges, I took my rat tail comb and parted diagonally through each section from the center of her head to the hairline.

The section on the right has been parted 

into wedges. The one of the left hasn't.

I did a 2 strand flat twists in each section, securing each with a small rubber band. That left me with a lot of loose hair. When each triangle was twisted, I gathered up all the loose ends in the center and banded them for a pretty poof of curls. Other options for finishing this style include coiling, braiding, twisting or wrapping the hair into a bun.

We made a little video of the flat twist technique I used. Enjoy!

Didn't You Say Something About A Giveaway?

Yes. I did. But instead, you are going to get a little story.

It was a dark and stormy night cool, sunny late afternoon. The redhead was sitting at her desk, hunting and pecking in her usual way. The children squabbled nearby. The dog snored on the couch behind her. She paid them no attention. She was focused on her last task of the day. She needed one simple thing before shutting the computer, sticky with maple syrup from that morning's breakfast, and turning her attention to the dishes that still lay undone in the sink. She was looking for a perfect phrase, a description, a pithy pitch for an article she was writing about a free product some one out there was about to get a chance to call their own. Instead, she found something else.

A quick search turned up the unexpected. She leaned in closer. In increasingly louder voices, the kids went on and on about who did what to whom first. The dog kept snoring. Stories of harassment and shocking business practices filled the screen. Not just one, or two, or three, but many. Too many. It was not just your typical internet disgruntled rant, easily dismissed. There were formal complaints - signed, sealed and delivered. The redhead sent the quarrelsome kids to their rooms. She was left alone with her thoughts. She briefly wondered if she should go ahead and publish the offer; there were no complaints against the actual product, just the company that makes it. Before the thought was finished, she rejected it. She went back to her article. Click. Select All. Delete. She got up and did the dishes.

The redhead didn't go looking for trouble. Trouble found her. It usually does. And that is why there is no giveaway today.

The Busy Bee

I don't know if I had more fun doing Little B's style this week or naming the style. Either way, I had a great time and I think she's pretty happy.

My idea was to do a rolling flat twist in a spiral starting in the middle of her head. I washed, conditioned, and detangled her the evening before. I used a product called Nature's Baby Conditioner and Leave-in (review coming soon) to detangle small sections. I added jojoba oil before twisting each freshly-deatngled section for the night. When I took the twists out before styling the next morning, her hair was very soft. I spritzed it with water and added a little pomade before I set to work.

I thought I would part as I went and make the rolling flat twist quite defined. I started by parting out a small section in the middle of her head. A rolling twist is made by parting a row of hair and then taking one small section at the start of the row and twisting it much like you would for a coil. Using the thumb, another bit of hair immediately behind the coil is separated from the rest. That hair is added by wrapping it around the coil and twisting the whole thing together in the same direction. Keep adding small sections and twisting and a rolling flat twist will form. If the hands are kept close the scalp, the rolling twist will be close too. Be careful not to twist too tightly!

I quickly found that trying to part the spiral wasn't working. The rolling twist wanted to be big and it wanted to be kind of chunky and loose. So I let it. I started just twisting and adding hair as I went around her head. I didn't part anything beyond that initial starting point, which was fine because the scalp didn't show through the chunky twist. Little B has more density on one side, so I had to reduce how much hair I added at one time on the less dense side so I wouldn't run out of hair to add before the spiral was complete.

At the end, I was left with just a little puff if hair. I banded it and tucked it in a little, adding flower clips to secure it to the twist immediately behind it.  I named the style The Busy Bee because it looks like a beehive, not the 60s hairstyle, but an actual beehive. It's also an apt name because this style doesn't take long at all, which made it perfect for my busy Little B.

I'm not sure how long this one will last since it is chunky and loose. Bike helmets and other kid play take their toll. Even if it only lasts a few days, I'm satisfied since it took hardly any time. I hope I get to do this one again and play with it more. Every other spiral I've done has started on the outside and ended up in the center. I loved that this was the opposite.

Little R's 2 Strand Flat Twist Wedge style is coming soon. Stay tuned...

Saturday Spotlight: Fishbone Cornrows

How are you all doing this weekend? Are you ready to see another great reader-submitted style? I am! Let's welcome Mommy C and her Little M. Mommy C completed the fishbone cornrow style in anticipation of a camping trip. She told me the style,

will last the week of camping and keep her hair moisturized and will allow for some lake swimming without much fuzzing.

Mommy C learned this style by watching Katelynylyn's video (Hi Katie!). I've wanted to try the fishbone style for a long time, but just haven't gotten around to doing it. That's why I'm so glad Mommy C decided to share this. Thank you to Mommy C for sharing this style and thanks to Little M as well.



Want to see you child's photo on an upcoming Saturday Spotlight? Me too. Email a few photos and a description of the style to me at joyfulmom@happygirlhair.com. Don't forget, photos of loose hair with descriptions of your care routine, and any and all styles for boy are welcome too.

(Not Quite) A Rosewater Review

How many of you are familiar with rosewater? I know it as a component of some of my favorite treats but recent conversations I've had nudged me towards giving it a try for other things. Rosewater has been used for thousands of years for bathing, ritual anointing, cooking, and in cosmetics. Today, some people use it regularly as a hair spritz, others love it on their skin, and it is still used in cooking to delicately flavor sweets. It can even be sprayed on sheets to make them smell great.

I bought a bottle of rosewater with the intention of testing it out on hair and skin. I chose a bottle with added glycerin, which means I couldn't use it for cooking. Rosewater varies in price, mostly due to the process used to make it. I believe I paid about $8 for an 8oz bottle; there are brands that are much more expensive and much less. I understand that rosewater varies quite a bit between brand, distillation process and type of or rose oil used, and some contain synthetic rose oil. Rather than a normal HGH review, I'd like to share our experience and impressions. I tried it out in out in a few different ways with a pretty open mind and few expectations. This is what I found.

Hair: I used rosewater in place of my usual daily spritz of distilled water mixed with a little TW Protective Mist Bodifier. Since this rose water wasn't inexpensive, I didn't spray very much on. While it made the hair smell nice, I'm guessing we would have had similar results with water and glycerin. Our hair felt soft, but no more or less so than with our regular routine.

Skin: All three of us loved rosewater on our skin, but not as our only body moisturizer. I used it as a pre-bedtime skin refresher and as an after bath splash. The girls thought it was great to be spritzed with rosewater on a hot night and then fall asleep under the ceiling fan. The scent of the rosewater made everyone feel so calm and relaxed. I did like it on my face as a moisturizer for my combination skin. Again, I suspect the glycerin was what I was responding to here, but I sure smelled good.

My conclusion: Rosewater is great - if the goal is to smell slightly of roses. As a hair product, I don't think it's very impressive. I found it more useful for the skin and I did like it a lot as a light perfume and tonic for the spirit. The description on my bottle declares rosewater "soothing and old-fashioned." It is both, much like the way gingerbread and crocheted blankets are, and there's nothing wrong with that. I might buy a bottle every now and again for a little treat. It was refreshing in the summer heat and I think it would be a nice pick me up during deep winter.

Have you ever tried rosewater for anything? What did you think? 

Back To It!

Back to what, you ask? School! I keep thinking of those old Staples commercials where the dad is happily skipping through the store picking up school supplies while It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year plays in the background. Sure, it's been great to spend every waking moment with my kids for months on end, but it's almost time for school now and I enjoy getting them ready.

We have been working our way through the Little House on the Prairie books for a long time now and just finished The Long Winter. That book made us shiver every night and as I was doing my shopping, I couldn't resist stocking up on warm, cozy PJs and undershirts. I bought winter parkas and made the girls try on their fleece-lined jeans from last year (they fit). As long as I was stocking up and placing orders, I decided to stock up on hair stuff too. My multi-bottle conditioner and coconut oil order arrived on the very hottest day of 2010, as did the winter jackets. I'm so glad the coconut oil was sealed tightly because it had completely liquified.

I still have a few things on my list for our school shopping like tights, shoes, and some new hair accessories. I know I'll have to order some of our favorite products for winter soon too, but I can put that off. After all, it is still August.

Next Monday I'll be posting a giveaway, just in time to celebrate back to school because sometimes it is the most wonderful time of the year.


How is your back to school shopping going? Or if your kids are already back, how did it go? Anyone having discussions about back to school hair or outfits?




PS You can find the funny 2010 Staples back to school commercial here, an older one with Alice Cooper here, and the classic one here. They all make me laugh - every time. I'm not on the Staples payroll or anything. I haven't been in one in many years and I couldn't even tell you if there is one in my town. I do like those commercials though.

A Realistic Look at Natural Hair Growth

A lot of talk about natural hair centers around attaining, measuring, and maintaining hair length. Wet curls may look long, but as they dry curls and coils do what they do best - they curl and coil, often making hair look so much shorter than it is. This phenomenon is referred to as shrinkage. Coils are so fragile too; it's sadly easy to lose length from breakage. When longer hair is the goal, these factors can make its pursuit frustrating at times.

When we arrived in Ethiopia to get our girls, we were a bit surprised to see that their hair was really short. Little B's had been shaved recently. All those hair tools, cute barrettes, and products taking up precious space in my suitcase were pretty much useless. When their hair started to grow in, I made tons of mistakes and caused lots of breakage. I know I'm not the only woman who found out she would have girls, went out and bought a pick, and then used it with great abandon - to the detriment of the curls. I cringe when I think about it now, but know that mistakes are inevitable and just a part of the learning process.

With all of that in mind, I would like to take you on a little tour of Little B and Little R's hair length stages. I want to share a realistic look at growth and length over several years. My missteps, the breakage I caused, and breakage through preschooler antics are all part of the process. These photos are not very dramatic when you think of the time the span- and that's the point. Attaining length can be slow and steady. It has taken almost three years to get to the length they now have.

With the exception of the last photo, these photos were taken approximately six months apart, starting in late Fall 2007.

I think this was our first full day together. 

I think Little R's hair must have been freshly 

washed hair. It looks suspiciously shiny.

Last Spring

 I couldn't find a photo of Little R's hair loose

 and Little B's looks a bit compacted.

Last Fall

This Spring

Now

If attaining length is your goal, it's good to remember that it can take a long, long time. It can be difficult to patiently wait through those toddler and preschooler years when breakage is hard to avoid and patchy hair is common. Those years will pass and gentle care and styling will help ensure your child retains the length she has.

A Tiny Shortcut

Occasionally, Little B and I like a little break from the regular detangling process. Sometimes, when Little B is wearing her hair in loose twists that aren't banded at the base, and it's time for a wash and restyle, I take advantage the opportunity to cut down on detangling time by washing with the twists in. It's also the perfect time to chose a new style that benefits from slightly stretched hair, like cornrows. I'd like mention that conditions need to be just right before I do this. I use this technique only very occasionally and never when Little B has build-up or needs a really good wash or deeper conditioning. This is how I do it:

Step 1: Remove any bands and decorations from the end of the twists.
Step 2: Wet the hair thoroughly. I mean really thoroughly.
Step 3: Add cleansing product. I used shampoo this time, but conditioner would work if you co-wash. When twists are not twisted tightly to the scalp, there is plenty of room under each to wash the scalp.
Step 4: Rinse well.
Step 5: Add conditioner, concentrating on the ends. Let it sit for a few minutes.
Step 6: Rinse well and then rinse some more.
Step 7: Add some hair milk/leave-in to wet hair.
Step 8: Take a few adjacent twists out and add a little detangling product.
Step 9: Finger detangle, then comb detangle the untwisted section. Clip the detangled hair to keep it from tangling again.
Step 10: Move on the the next section until all the twists are removed and the hair is detangled.

Clockwise from top left: washed twists;

detangled and clipped hair; untwisted hair ready to be detangled.

Ten steps may seem like a lot, but the time it takes to do the actual detangling and removal of shed hair is dramatically reduced, because that hair hasn't had much chance to get tangled. Notice that I still do both finger-detangling followed by comb detangling on damp hair.

Do you ever wash this way? Are there shortcuts or time savers you use?